Chhattisgarh govt bets on irrigation push to rebuild Bastar region

With the security situation improving in Bastar, the Chhattisgarh government is preparing to roll out two major irrigation projects aimed at driving long-term economic revival in the region, marred by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE).

 

The push aligns with the state’s long-term plan to unlock growth in the tribal-dominated Bastar region as security forces report breakthroughs in anti-Maoist operations. On May 21, security forces eliminated CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju. Days later, central committee member Sudhakar was killed in an encounter in Bijapur. 

 

A March 2026 deadline has been set for rooting out insurgency, though Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has indicated the timeline may be shortened due to the recent successes. Once that was achieved, the government would accelerate development works in the entire Bastar region, Sai said, adding that the rebels had severely hampered the socio-economic growth of the region.

 

As part of the plan, Sai has discussed in detail with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the construction of the multipurpose Bodhghat Dam Project and the Indravati-Mahanadi Interlinking Project. The Prime Minister has reportedly approved the Rs 49,000 crore projects. 

 

Bastar has been Maoist-affected for a long time, due to which it had lagged in the development of irrigation facilities. “To overcome the problem of irrigation facilities in the division and promote all-round development, the Chhattisgarh government is working on the multipurpose Bodhghat Dam Project and the Indravati-Mahanadi Link Project,” Sai said.

 

The Bodhghat Multipurpose Dam Project, pending for the past 45 years due to water disputes and insurgency, would be a decisive project for the all-round development of Bastar. 

 

The multipurpose Bodhghat Dam Project is proposed on Indravati river, a major tributary of the Godavari. The Indravati flows for a total distance of 264 kilometres (kms) in the state. The project is proposed at a distance of about 8 km from Barsoor village of Geedam Tehsil and about 100 km from Jagdalpur city in Dantewada district.

 

The Bodhghat Dam Project will ensure electricity production of 125 Mw, generate employment through 4,824 tonnes of annual fish production, and expand irrigation to 3,78,475 hectares, in both the Kharif and Rabi seasons. 

 

The interlinking project will irrigate another 300,000 hectares, including 50,000 hectares in Kanker district. Together, the two projects are positioned to be catalysts for making Bastar self-reliant and investment-ready.